Concord Rangers well beaten by rampant Hemel Hempstead Town

From the Aspect Arena

National League South

CONCORD Rangers suffered a third consecutive defeat as they were well beaten by a strong Hemel Hempstead Town side.

The Beach Boys, having been beaten by Truro City and Dartford in the past week, were looking for a response against one of the division’s leading lights.

But they were no match for Town, who had Jamie Slabber to thank for a well-taken brace and a late goal from Hemel captain Ben Herd.

The one-sided contest should have seen Concord fall behind in the early stages, as Slabber missed the chance to open his account, firing wide from point-blank range at the far post.

But the forward was on hand to score with a tap-in after 10 minutes of the contest.

Max Cornhill, returned to the side after missing the midweek loss with work commitment and donning a head bandage after a collision last weekend, came the closest for the home team in the first 45 minutes, but he was denied by a fine last-ditch challenge by Terrell Forbes.

Into the second-half, Slabber shot over while Tony Stokes came close to converting for Concord up the other end after good wing play from Joe Gardner.

But Slabber’s second goal was a touch of class, as he took a touch, cut inside and bent a left-footed strike past Ben McNamara to double Hemel’s advantage.

Jamal Lowe was denied by the Concord stopper, before he won his side a late penalty, which Herd converted to leave Adam Flanagan’s side well beaten.

There was still time for a late Cornhill effort to be cleared off the line but the score-line was deserving of Hemel’s performance.

Concord Rangers: McNamara, Walker, Lee, Doyle (Cawley), King, Wood, Greenhalgh (Brayley), White, Gardner, Cornill, Taaffe, (Stokes)